Evaluation of Diversity Statements and Values on United States Neurosurgery Residency Program Websites

Introduction: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are increasingly discussed in the context of academic neurosurgery and recruitment of the neurosurgical workforce. The aim of this study was to evaluate dedicated DEI language on neurosurgery residency program websites.

Methods: One-hundred and eighteen neurosurgery residency programs were identified in North America, from which 113 programs were included for review. Neurosurgery residency program websites were searched by two independent researchers during a six-week period for residency- or department-specific diversity statements. If no statement was found, sites were searched for keywords including “diversity”, “equity”, “inclusion”, “women”, “gender”, “minority”, and “disability”. All websites were searched for information regarding current residents and faculty, including total number, presence of photos, and extensive biographies beyond education history.

Results: Only 29 out of the 113 neurosurgery residency programs (25.7%) had a program- or department-specific diversity statement. The majority of diversity statements were residency-specific (65%). Statements emphasized diversity, inclusion, health, and residents. While race and gender were mentioned in 41.4% and 48.3% statements, respectively, LGBTQ+, minority, and disability were mentioned in 7 %, 7 % and 13.8% of 29 statements, respectively. Of the 84 programs without a statement, 12% mentioned either “diversity”, “equity”, and or “inclusion”, 1.2% mentioned “LGBTQ+”, “women”, and “gender”, and 4.8% mentioned “disability” on their website. Most residency websites had photos of current residents (97.3%) and faculty (98.2%), 46.9% included extended resident biographies, and 62.7% included extended faculty biographies.

Conclusion : The future of neurosurgery is inclusive to trainees from different backgrounds, including race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. Despite the emphasis on DEI in academic neurosurgery, diversity statements demonstrating program support for underrepresented groups are not present on most neurosurgery residency websites. Among programs providing diversity statements, disability, minority status, and LGBTQ+ are the least-included categories.